


Diminutive Dilemma

by Pyromantic (Gennacyde)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, Demons, F/M, Occult, Shapeshifting, Violence, tiny demon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 11:43:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16994367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gennacyde/pseuds/Pyromantic
Summary: The purchase of a building comes with more than just a price tag, a little surprise dwells within and below as well.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As I write the story I will be adding to the tags. Right now there is nothing explicit but there soon will be.

There was something odd about the building that had made you wary the moment you stepped into it. While the price seemed almost too good to be true, it made you wonder why. The location was great, better than you could have hoped for. The area was ripe for this kind of shop and you could not imagine how such a lovely building had sat empty for so long. The prime location wasn't the only thing about it that made it desirable. The architecture was glorious. They say the building itself, in its current form was about 100 years old, but the foundation it was built on was much older. The cellar of the building was older than the rest of the town. No one was really sure what it had been before the new structure had been built on top of it.

The design of the building was unique, it stood out amongst the rest of the town with an almost gothic feel but not overly so. For some reason as wary as it made you when you walked inside, something about this structure called to you. When you first saw it you were certain there was no way you could ever afford a nice large building in such a perfect location. Even the storefront was everything you had wanted with ample room to make interesting and eye catching displays in the large bay windows.

Not only was the shop itself perfect, but the living space above had everything you could ever need. While the outside architecture had been left alone, as had the store space, the apartment area up top had been upgraded to meet current codes. It wasn't as sparkly and new as modern buildings, but there was something charming in the way it had been restored. The upgrades were hidden behind more authentic looking fixtures making it seem both old and new at the same time.

As spacious as the shop was the living space was almost more so. You wondered whatever you would do with the spare room as you lived alone, but figured the extra space could come in useful you just weren't sure how yet. Once the realtor gave you the price you were sold. It was too much of a bargain to pass up. Of course you had it inspected and did some research, the price was almost too good. However you couldn't find any concrete reason for the building to have sat for so long. The most you could find was that people that had owned it before you, each of them left in under a year.

Determined to make this work you signed a contract with a steep penalty should you try to break it too soon. You had sold almost everything you owned that was of any value to buy this place and took out loans. There was no going back once this decision was made and with your personal possessions and the leftover money you began your new life.

Months had passed and your shop had begun to flourish. You had expanded from just antiques, to antiques and collectables. Selling all kinds of interesting objects of interest in your shop. Every item had a story, every story you memorized. Slowly you built upon that reputation and people began to come to the shop from farther and farther away. It wasn't all sunshine and happiness. It took work to run a business alone and the exhaustion kept you from noticing the little quirks and unusual activity that happened both in your shop and in the apartment above.

When something would go missing and show up elsewhere you blamed it on forgetting where you put it. Items that fell over and broke, you passed off as you setting it too close to the edge. Being overworked and tired made for a lot of excuses and allowed for you to overlook a lot. After a while though, you began to see a pattern and started to wonder if it really was exhaustion after all.

To test your theories, and to try and prove to yourself that you weren't crazy you would take pictures of the shop and where items were the last time you looked. If something was out of place you would look at the pictures to see if the item had been there to begin with or if you just forgot. Each time it appeared that the items had been moved, but you knew that you had not moved them. At least you were not conscious of any times when you moved the items.

In your apartment things were worse. You began finding scratches on furniture and the floors, but after having three exterminators out you could not find any possible cause. No vermin were anywhere in the building. Honestly if you didn't know better you would think a cat or something with behavior like a cat was loose in your home. Only, you didn't own a cat, so that too made no sense.

For your own sanity you went back to ignoring the unusual activity and blamed it on your own exhaustion. It was all you could do really, because otherwise you had to take other options into consideration that you were not positive you would like the reality of. Instead it was easier to blame it on lack of sleep and a forgetful mind, and for a while this worked. More months passed and you were coming up on only being a few months away from a year owning the place.

This was a momentous occasion. In the past no one had stayed as long as a year and here you were getting close to that goal. Of course the unusual activity had ramped up considerably to the point that it was becoming much harder to ignore and near impossible to pass off as your own exhaustion.

One night while trying to sleep you swore you felt something jump in bed with you. If you were honest it felt like a cat jumping on the bed as the weight it displaced was not enough to be anything human sized. Again you had to remind yourself that you did not own a cat and when you turned on the light and looked at the foot of the bed, nothing was there.

After that night the incidents got worse. You would set your coffee on the counter and look away, then it would be on the floor, glass shattered. The scratch marks were appearing in more places, looking deeper than before. You began to hear unholy noises you could not quite describe and a whispering in your ear that you could not place. It was time to dig deeper.

It took a few weeks but you finally found information that was old enough and weird enough to give you a clue. This town had been like others of its kind. Old and full of some unpleasant history. They had burned, hung, drowned, stoned, and otherwise murdered people that had been accused of witchcraft. It was hard to read about all those innocent people, mostly women, that had died at the hands of zealots. You wondered if something had happened where this building stood but could not find anything specific or exact. Having no other options you had to let it go.

A few more weeks passed and you were boxing up some items you had planned to put into storage or potentially get rid of. Reorganizing sometimes calmed you and most of your books had been taken off the shelves and were stacked up. To an outsider it might look like you were packing to move. It was just how you handled things.

"Finally! I thought you would never leave!"


	2. Chapter 2

You froze. You had been alone. No one else was there. No TV was on, no radio, nothing that would be able to speak. Slowly you turned around and looked in the direction the voice had come from, but saw nothing there. Not at first, then a small bit of movement caught your eye. Tilting your head you watched as a shadow moved, independent of the item it seemed attached to.

Staring you continued to watch the shadow until it stepped forward. You weren't sure what to make of it. It wasn't a cat, though you had to wonder as you did the math in your mind. This creature, whatever it was, could have been what was causing you all the problems. It stepped forward into the light and you could see that its black skin looked more like an oil slick as light hit it. A pinched elongated face looked at you. Large pointed ears twitched as it moved closer.

You could see long horns coming out the top of its head and what could be wings caped to its back. A long whip like tail lashed in what you thought might be an agitated fashion behind it. All in all, if it were human size this creature would be horrifying. As it was, you found it almost cute as it walked up to you.

"Seriously, if you need help packing hire someone because I don't help anyone but it would be nice if you left faster." The creature walked right up to you as it spoke. "So, what is is going to take to get you out of here, say, this week?"

A laugh burst forth from your throat and it took you a minute to calm down before you could talk. "So you are what has been causing me all the trouble." You were smiling and you could tell that it did not like the look you were giving it. "I hate to break it to you, um... whatever you are, but I am not moving. I am just packing up some items for storage and doing a little reorganizing"

The weird little creature just stared at you for a long moment. Blinking a vertical slit set of eyelids over its main eyes, and then horizontal ones over the rest. Which, you really only just noticed the extra eyes and did find them a tad unsettling.

"Are you fucking shitting me right now?" The little creature blurted.

This only caused more laughter on your part, and more evidence of frustration on its. "Sorry, you are not getting rid of me that easily. Yes you are obnoxious, but now that I know what is going on it isn't so bad. It is kind of like having a badly behaved cat in the house. Though while we are on the subject, could you please stop breaking my stuff. It is becoming a bit costly to keep replacing cups."

The set of larger eyes just stared at you, something in the look letting you know that the creature was displeased with your attitude. It also forewarned that you would probably end up with more broken cups. Of course you could just start using plastic, yes the mess would still be there but you wouldn't have to worry about broken dishes any longer.

"So... what are you supposed to be anyway? A goblin or something?" You asked as you tried to get a better look at the creature without getting closer.

"A goblin? Seriously? A goblin? I look like a fucking goblin to you?" The creature just rubbed its face with a hand looking a bit exasperated and more annoyed than before. "I am a demon you obnoxious unobservant bitch." He huffed.

"Well that was a little uncalled for don't you think?" you respond with a bit of a smile. Normally the way the creature spoke to you would have upset you from a human. However, this was a demon and it was hard to expect anything else. It actually made it easier to ignore him and his crass attitude. Still it was a curious thing. You would think that a demon would have been cause for alarm. How did no one that owned this place before keep from mentioning this.

"What are you staring at now?" The demon asked growling a bit, his tail lashing in agitation.

"Well, I mean, you are kind of small and.. No one ever said anything about any demon. I am guessing you aren't really all that powerful or dangerous. I mean if you want to stay that is fine, just stop breaking my things please." While he didn't really deserve your politeness it never hurt to at least try.

"I.. can't with you right now.." and with that he disappeared in a small whoosh a spiral of darkness lingering along with a rather unpleasant odor.

Of course now at least you knew what that smell was and would stop having plumbers and contractors come out to check the pipes as there was no leak of any kind. Just a demon. Though maybe a call to a priest would be in order. Yet, you stopped yourself. Yes the demon was obnoxious, but without his behavior you would not have the life that you did now. You never would have gotten such a deal on this building and your shop was flourishing despite the weirdness. Was it really fair to have him cast out, especially as he didn't seem all that dangerous. No, perhaps it was best to just let him stay for now.


	3. Chapter 3

Come morning you were not so sure about letting him stay. Now that you knew he was there, he had no reason to be subtle. At least that is the only excuse you could think of that would lead to waking up with the small demon draped across your face snoring loudly. You were pretty positive that the snoring was something he could control and only did it to further annoy you. The sleeping across your face may have been one step too far and had startled you.

Without thinking you grabbed him and flung him across the room not really realizing that it could be a bad idea to do so, but how else are you supposed to react to waking up with something laying on your face. You wondered how you didn't wake sooner. The growl from the corner let you know that the sudden trip across the room had woken him.

Grumbling you climbed out of bed and looked to see that he had landed in the corner on some clothes that needed to be washed. All in all it wasn't the worse place he could have landed though it was a little funny when he poked his head up and had a pair of underwear snagged to his horn. You couldn't really tell from this distance but you were pretty sure all of his eyes were focused on you and glaring.

Ignoring him you walked to the bathroom and began your daily routine. Now that you knew why stuff kept getting moved and how the weird messages ended up on the mirror you no longer thought about it and it no longer bothered you. Somehow knowing you had a tiny demon living with you made things easier in the end. Yes he was a demon, but honestly he seemed rather harmless.

Finishing up your shower you walked back into your room to get dressed. Not really paying attention to the fact that he was now openly watching you do so. It never occured to you to be modest. It was sort of like changing in front of a pet, you just never really thought about it. Though the staring would probably be creepier had he been humansized, as it was it was easy to ignore like most of what he did.

Once dressed you headed into the kitchen to begin breakfast. Somehow he was there on the counter staring at you again. Now that he was closer you could easily make out the displeased look on his face but somehow it just seemed more adorable than frightful. You had to resist the urge to pat him on the head or give him a scratch under the chin.

Starting the coffee you began making breakfast. The coffee finished before the rest and your poured yourself a cup and set it on the counter without really thinking as you finished making breakfast. After the food was plated you turned around to see him looking at you and standing next to the cup. You had a feeling what was coming.

"Don't you dare!" You hissed at the small demon and watched as he looked you right in the eye and kicked the cup off the counter. It shattered as it hit the floor. Rolling your eyes you huffed setting your plate down. "Honestly, you are worse than a cat." Cleaning up the mess you made yourself another cup and took your food and coffee to the table where you sat down to eat. Of course that was interrupted when he appeared on the table and walked onto your plate stepping in your food. "Ok. Now. That is just rude." You commented in an almost bored tone. Inside you were trying hard not to laugh because he simply looked so disgruntled but it was really kind of adorable.

"If I leave you alone here are you going to make a bunch of messes. I have some errands to run and I don't want you destroying the house. I wonder if I should get you a pet carrier or something to keep you in. I better look into what materials can hold a demon." Your voice made it sound like you were serious but you were only somewhat kidding. There was a part of you curious if he could be contained, if for no other reason than to save you from having to clean a destroyed house every day.

You tried to keep it together but the affronted expression he was making sent you into fits of giggles as you tried to finish your breakfast. You knew that it was probably safe to eat, unlike a pet the demon did not seem to really walk anywhere or step on anything so the assumption was his feet were relatively clean.

With breakfast done you cleaned your dishes and moved to finish gathering your stuff for the day. Putting on a hoodie and grabbing your purse you headed to the door. However, this time you felt a weird weight. Looking down in the front pocket of your hoodie was the demon. Somehow he seemed smaller than before and you weren't sure how he fit or why he was there. It worried you that someone might see him, but then, maybe that would validate things for you. Shrugging you just let him stay and headed out the door and down the back stairs.

As you walked you noticed that no one was paying any attention. Occasionally he would pop his head out of your pocket or a limb but no one seemed to see him. It was only when he spoke that anyone turned to you and they thought you had spoken. It was then that you realized how much trouble this could be. If he decided to say terrible things, people would think it was you saying them and you could potentially lose business.

While that concerned you he did not seem to be behaving quite so badly so you continued. It wasn't until after you had finished at the hardware store and were heading back to the shop that he yelled at a man passing by. It would have been better if the demon had insulted him, but he made a suggestive comment and it seemed the man thought it was from you. Of course he turned around and immediately began flirting, apparently he was charmed that you hit on him first. It took 30 minutes, and a promise of a date to extract yourself from the situation, by the time you got home you were furious and more than a little upset.

"How could you do that? Why? Why would you even do that?" You tossed your hoodie across the room with the demon in it. Frustration and anxiety filling you. The last thing you wanted was to go on a date with this guy but now you felt obligated. It made you deeply uncomfortable and you felt even more anxiety at the idea of what he might expect after the date. Because of the nature of your comments you weren't sure he would even believe you if you declined any advances and that just made you more upset. So much so that you just sat in your room looking ready to cry.


	4. Chapter 4

When the demon jumped up on the bed and watched you, his expression seemed to not fit his face. Your eyes were full of unshed tears and you just glared at him. Somehow he looked concerned, at least one set of his eyes did. Another set managed to look somewhat uncomfortable.

"What are you even upset for. You got a date out of it. You should be happy, I helped you. That wasn't even my intention, so stop crying." He huffed as his wings flared out a bit.

"Yeah, clearly I am so thrilled about this arrangement. Look at how happy I am right now." You glared even harder at him as tears fell. "Now I have to go on some date with some man I don't even know, and because of you he is already going to have expectations. What if I say no, he wont listen now because clearly I was the one coming onto him. So yeah, thanks for all this. When he murders me you will have the place to yourself again." You snap and look away as you take a shaky breath.

"Whoa. Hey. Hold on here. I am not that kind of demon ok. I don't work that way. I mean yeah some of my kind outright murder humans, but I am bound to this building and forbidden from bringing harm to any that own it. When you signed the contract, you got me, the building, and everything that comes with it. Why do you think you are so successful. That is part of the deal. Which is why I annoy people and scare them til they leave. I can't actually harm my masters, but I can annoy the piss out of them until they break the contract and I am free again to just do what I want." He was pacing as he ranted trying to defend himself and his actions.

You turn and look at him. "So, when I bought this place, I bought you too?"

He rolls all three sets of eyes and somehow that makes you smile. You wonder if it hurts to roll that many eyes at once. "You don't own me. You bought the building, the foundation, everything here. When you signed the contract of ownership and the deed to the property moved to your name. You became my master, not my owner, it is a little different." He scratched at a horn and shrugged a shoulder. "It is a long story and kind of hard to explain. The point is, I can't hurt you and I can't let anything else hurt you. Well, I can't let you be killed. That is the only thing explicitly outlined but the gist is that I don't let any harm come to you."

You just kind of watched him for a bit your head shaking slightly as you try to take it all in and make some sort of sense of it. "I am sure you could probably explain everything, and maybe another night, but right now I am tired and I wish you would just go away." Your voice was somewhat hollow when you spoke and you were surprised to see that he did as he was asked. Though you wondered if that too was part of it and if he was required to leave because you ordered him to. Well it was more of a wish than an order, but the feeling was there.

The rest of the day passed slowly in a bit of a haze. You didn't even remember eating dinner or going to bed or even waking up the next day. It wasn't until you were in the shop cleaning a bit in the afternoon that you realized nothing had happened yet. Nothing had been moved, you didn't find anything broken. It was like the demon wasn't even there. It was curious and weird, but you actually kind of enjoyed it.

This went on for a couple of weeks and you slowly began to realize you kind of missed the chaos. Having to right things after the demon moved them around not only gave you something to do, but added some variety to the way your store was laid out. Since stuff was never in the same spots, people that came in frequently had to wander around. It meant that sometimes people managed to find things they never knew they wanted and your sales would go up. Without the demon messing with things, you noticed a slight decline in your sales, but not enough to be a problem.

Sitting at your kitchen table you sighed. "Demon thing, are you around?" you called to the empty air feeling a tad silly.

To your surprise the demon actually appeared on the table just looking at you. His face seemed about as neutral as one with a face like his could and it seemed like he was just waiting for something, but you weren't sure what. The silence stretched until you broke it. "So where have you been?" Part of you, surprisingly enough, had actually missed him. It was more that it kept you busy and distracted that you missed. It wasn't as if you had known he was there at all in the beginning. It was something you weren't sure you were ready to admit out loud, but you kind of missed the weirdness.

"You said to leave, so I left." His tone was even and he seemed less eager to agitate you, but it still had you wary.

"So, I just tell you to do something and you do it? That seems a bit odd. Is that how it works?" You knew there was more to this than just owning the property and telling him what to do. There had to be, he was a demon. It just didn't make sense for it to be this easy.

"Explaining how it works would take time. You the first owner and master to actually see me in a long time. Since you addressed me directly I had to obey. There are limits of course like with anything, but I can also choose to obey a request if I feel like it, so I did." He walked closer and sat on the table in front of you. "So, you going to have a priest try to banish me or something now?"

The way he asked it almost made it sound like it wouldn't work, or that it had happened before perhaps. It only made you more curious. "I hadn't planned on it, but would that do anything? Would it actually banish you?"

"Nope. I mean it would hurt and I would be angry and weak for a while, but it wouldn't be enough to get rid of me forever. Maybe for a short time while I recuperate from it, but no. The priests here don't have the power to fully get rid of me. It would still suck though, I hate it. It's happened before and it is always a pain in my ass. If it makes you feel safer you are welcome to try, but it won't do you any good."

"Then I have no reason to do that. I don't want to hurt you. I mean you are kind of annoying, but you don't scare me and you haven't tried to hurt me or anyone in the store. So I see no reason to banish you, or try to banish you. So you can stay and not worry." You smiled awkwardly at him and leaned in to get a better look. "So... can I ask some questions you might not want to answer?"

The demon looked a bit surprised for a moment. Not just that you were asking permission to ask questions, but that you had no real desire to be rid of him. It was a bit of a cute expression, his confusion and surprise. The twitch of his wings and lash of his tail, again, made you think of a cat and it only made you smile more. He was actually kind of cute when you thought about it, but you had a feeling he would not appreciate knowing that. Still when he nodded, some what carefully but it was still a nod, you felt safe asking your question.

"I am not sure where to begin really, so I am just going to throw some stuff out there and I guess answer what you can or what you want. First off, why are you so small? I thought demons were big and mean. Don't they usually hurt and kill people? Why do you just annoy the people that live here and not try to really scare them? How did you even get tied to this place and why? I mean you may not even know that but I feel like all of this is just a bit weird I guess."

He huffed and sort of glared at you looking slightly annoyed. "Not all demons are the same. I am one of the lower class demons. We are a bit safer to summon as we are less likely to be able to break the incantation or the binding spell. We also tend to accept our fates a bit easier than some of the larger more aggressive types, but we come with limitations." He got a bit more comfortable, his legs hanging over the edge of the table. "For instance, you can't really use me to smite your enemies. My power is limited and while I am capable of killing people I can't take out an army. Especially not now. Which I guess would bring us to the first question."

Now he looked uncomfortable. Shifting a bit and rubbing a horn. Something that you were beginning to notice might be a nervous habit or a tell of sorts.


	5. Chapter 5

"I wasn't always this small. When I was first summoned I would have been too big to fit in this building, but at the time this building wasn't here. The original building that went with this foundation long since burned down." He seemed to be rambling a bit and noticed that you had already caught on. "Anyway, the short of it is that my power has been dwindling for a while. It is why I cannot do much more than be a nuisance. It is usually enough to make people go away, but that is about it."

"So you are only this small because you are losing your power. Is it a time thing? Is this just how these things work that after a while you will eventually fade?" It was a question you weren't sure you wanted the answer to, but had asked it anyway.

The demon shrugged. "I don't really know. I have been here so long I sometimes can't really remember any other life. I mean I can, but it isn't worth thinking about. In the beginning I was powerful. I was worshiped. This town wouldn't even exist without me. The sacrifices and appeasements went a long way for my powers and my original masters are why this is even a town and not some barren landscape. Of course it isn't thriving like it did when I was at full power, but that is what happens when you bind a demon then forget about it. The power does eventually fade, just as I will eventually fade. We don't die we just become something else or return to our realm."

You were curious and yet afraid to ask anything else. Still you had to know. "Why were you forgotten? Do your masters have to sacrifice to you? Are you going to make me kill virgins?" You asked in a joking fashion, only because you were afraid the answer was yes.

This time the demon laughed and you found that you liked the sound. It was deep and somehow warm where you had expected it to sound cold. You couldn't stop the smile on your face as you waited for him to stop laughing. Was the question really that funny?

"I wasn't forgotten all at once. My masters had followers, a cult really. After they passed then the next in line would inherit the contract and so on. Eventually someone tied the contract to the location. If I remember correctly it was because one of the cultists wanted to have me bound to him to do only his bidding and the others didn't like it. I guess they worried that my powers would be abused, but really what do you expect from people that summon demons right?" He chuckled again and sighed a bit before continuing. "Normally, in the past, it didn't matter who performed the sacrifices. Mostly because once my original masters passed I was bound to the cult and then to this building. Since the building cannot make sacrifices, then the owner normally would."

You watched him, weirdly he seemed uncomfortable talking about this but you couldn't think why. He was a demon he should be fine with this subject. "So what about freeing you?"

His head shot up as he stared at you. Eyes narrowing as he studied you. For the first time you felt like he was looking into your soul. It was intensely uncomfortable. All six eyes focused on you.

"Why would you free me?" It was a simple question but it was asked with clear suspicion in his voice.

"If you have to be here, have no real power, and I have to kill people to keep you. I think I would rather free you and just take my chances honestly." As much as you could be, you wanted to be honest with him. Demon or no demon.

"You realize without me here, even with my limited power, this whole town could slowly die. While I don't have the influence I used to, my power still helps keep this town alive. You would risk it all to chance, just to get rid of me? Am I that obnoxious?" He almost sounded hurt when he spoke.

You laughed just a bit, a small giggle really. "No, you are not that obnoxious. It just seems cruel to keep you here like this and let you die slowly, or fade I guess since you can't die. You haven't really hurt me, or anyone in a long time I would imagine. It seems you served your purpose so why not just free you?'"

His wings snapped, tail lashing again, he was clearly excited. You weren't sure what freeing him would do, but the prospect of being free was clearly of interest to him. You really hoped there were no downsides to this either. Yes the town might not survive but it would probably take a long time for people to stop coming. It was also possible that nothing would change.

"You are serious about this, about freeing me, aren't you?" The demon asked, something hard to read in his eyes. An expression you had never seen.

"I am not going to murder people for you. I am sorry, but I can't. So I would rather just free you and be done with it. I will take my chances." You looked thoughtful. "I don't... hate... having you here. If I am honest I missed you these last couple of weeks. The shop is boring without your nonsense."

Now he looked put out, grumpy really. "It was meant to drive you away, not make you want me to do it more." He huffed but there was a small smile curving his lips.

"So, how do I do it. How do I unbind you?" You asked, and thought the answer would be simple.

"Well, you can have me banished. That isn't fun for me but will do the job. You can have me unbound from this contract and location which would set me loose on the mortal realm. Though at this point, I would just return to my own realm, not much I can do in my current condition so you wouldn't have to worry about a rogue demon or anything. You could try to have me destroyed but that is much harder than you think, so I wouldn't recommend that route. Or you could use the old rituals and send me straight back to my realm yourself. Though, let's be honest here, you don't really seem like the type that would know the first thing about completing rituals."

"It can't be that hard." You quip and are tempted to poke him to make a point.

"Technically, no, it isn't. However, if you get even one thing wrong. One symbol slightly out of place. One line not straight enough. One word with the wrong accent, or emphasis on the wrong syllable, not only will it not work but any number of things could happen that you most likely won't enjoy." He paused. "I say we go that route. If nothing else it will be the most entertaining."

Now you were looking at him as if you wanted to slap him and he knew it. The twitch of his lips let you know he was holding back a laugh and you were just ready to say something about it but managed to hold back the temptation. "I think that will be a no. I know nothing of those rituals or any rituals and I would rather not summon some elder god and destroy the world accidentally. So we will have to use one of the other methods." You tilted your head looking at him. "I mean I wouldn't mind you staying, but not if you are so unhappy."

The demon looked a bit taken aback. "That is what this is about? You want to free me because you think I am unhappy?


	6. Chapter 6

His comment, or more the way he said it had you pausing for a moment before speaking. "Well there is that, and also the part where you said you were dying or fading. Which honestly sounds like the same thing actually, but I am sure it isn't." You shrugged and leaned in a bit. "Demon or no demon, like I said before you deserve a better life than to just suffering and letting it drag on until you cease to be. I just want to do the right thing. This feels like the right thing, and I am not murdering people. There is that too. The whole sacrifice thing is a no go for me."

"The sacrifices are not exactly necessary. That was just what gave me the most power but it isn't the only thing needed to give me strength. What I mean is, there are other ways to grant me more power and strength as well as sacrifices. However, sacrifices are the easiest and fastest way to give me a bit of a power boost especially short term, or if you need a powerful favor fast."

You watched him incredulously for a moment "So I don't have to kill people and you can still recover some power, but you won't be as strong as you are when murder is involved? I just want to make sure I understand."

"Eh, something like that. I mean that is the basics but still not quite 100% right. I am one of those demons that can gain power from a variety of sources and where that power comes from determines how strong I am and what my powers can do. So yeah, sacrifices are one way and was the only way most of the cultists ever bothered to boost my powers. I don't know if some of them just had no idea there were other ways, or if that was specifically the kind of power they were looking for." He shrugged his shoulders, wings flicking out a bit then settling back down around him.

"You know the next thing I am going to ask you is how else to grant you power. Since murder is not an option for me, I would like to know what the others are." You watched him, wary of what he might say. Though you weren't sure if anything could be worse than killing people.

He laughed a bit, this time it was a warm light chuckle. "Well the easiest way, and by that I mean the one that would usually require the least amount of work from my master, is my being worshiped. The more followers I have, the more powerful I am. Though at this point I think that would be the most amount of work for you since I cannot imagine a cult just magically springing up out of nowhere to worship me. Though I am sure if you really wanted to that could be something you would be able to throw together. Also, before you ask, just you worshiping me alone won't be enough to do much. So trying to take it on all by yourself would be pointless."

"Well I won't kill and I can't really see myself being a cult leader in any sense, so those are both out. What else is there?" you asked.

The question hung in the air for a long moment as he just stared at you. Each eye blinking individually, and more slowly than you were used to. He was stalling, that much was clear, but why? Killing and demon worship had to be the worst of it, what else was there? What could possibly be worse than that? It wasn't just the silence but the way he was looking at you that made you wish you had not asked that question in the first place.

"I can take energy from souls." The demon stated plainly.

"Uh huh...." You were nodding but looked a bit confused, you almost didn't want him to explain.

"There are two ways to get soul energy. Freely given, or taken. Now if it is freely given a small bit of it is far more powerful. If I just take it, then the power is less. I am not sure why, that is just the way it is." He shrugged and then continued. "In the past the cultists would give up portions of their soul energy in return for favors. The more of their soul that they gave, the larger the favor granted." He laughed a bit. "There was one guy that kept coming back asking for little things here and there. By the end of it, he had no soul left."

"That sounds terrible! Why didn't you stop him?" The question was met by laughter.

"Why would I stop someone from giving me their soul?"

You looked perplexed for a moment, then sheepish as you sat there. A sigh escaped you as you looked away. "I don't know if I would feel right, trying to get people to give up their souls. I mean I know if they want to do it on their own that is their own choice, but it would still feel wrong." You lifted your face and looked at the demon. He had the strangest look on his face and you felt uncomfortable.

"Not sure it would matter anyway. I don't have enough power to grant much in the way of favors. I could only do small stuff. I would have to rebuild my energy before I could actually fulfill wishes in any capacity. At least the kinds of wishes people would have these days. My power has dwindled enough that stealing souls forcibly may be my only course of action." He watched you with curiosity as you took it all in.

"Is this really it? Are there no other ways?" You ask a hint of desperation in your voice.

"You are really a softie you know that? I mean every option seems to upset you and honestly I am a bit surprised. I am a demon, what do you expect? Man I am glad I left the other options off. I think you might have passed out or something." He was chuckling again as he responded.

"There is more? Seriously after all of that, there is more?" You put your face in your hands as your elbows hit the table. You are now much closer to him than before. He could easily reach out and touch you and when you peek between your fingers you can see his hand twitch as if he wanted to do just that. "I almost don't want to know." your voice is muffled by your hands as you rub your face and then look at him speaking more clearly. "Just tell me. The curiosity might kill me at this point."

"Well I can't have that. I am supposed to make sure that nothing hurts you. Also, you really... really do not want to know." He is looking at you, this time there is something in his eyes that makes you wonder if he is somehow protecting you from this truth or if it is something else entirely.

"I would not have asked if I did not want to know. I mean I know I don't want to know, but at this point I kind of need to know. So you might as well tell me. You aren't a succubus so it can't be sex, so really what is it?"

"Actually succubi are female formed demons, incubi are the male formed ones. So in that particular reference you would have been comparing me to an incubus, which no I am not but we do share some commonalities." It was his turn to rub his face. "Can we go back to freeing me instead of making me stronger? I am not sure you want to know the rest and I get the feeling that if we finish this conversation you are going to have a priest in here and that is going to suck because exorcism hurts. It doesn't work, but it fucking hurts and I want no part of it."

You sat there quietly for a moment as you took in what he was saying. He shifted the subject back to freeing him so quickly that you felt you had missed something.


	7. Chapter 7

What commonalities could he possibly have with a succubus, or an incubus actually as he had corrected you on that. This of course made it seem as though he was indicating that he was in fact male, something that seemed strange now that it was out there as you had referred to him as male in your head. You had just assumed but had no real proof of gender, and it wasn't as if you were going to check. Now you had even more questions, but he had already moved the subject along and it seemed strange to try and pull it back to the previous topic.

"Well, ok, I mean if that is what you want. What is the easiest way to free you?" The question seemed simple enough and you hoped it would have a simple answer.

"Well first you will have to know my name, and before you ask, no I can't tell you. Then you have to perform a simple unbinding ritual, and before you get all worried it is way easier than a banishing ritual. Basically it would just unbind me from the contract, this place, and by default you as well. Of course then I will be free to do what I want, but to be honest I would just go home. I don't really have enough power to do much else. Hell I barely have enough power left to get home. As it stands by the time you figure out my name and unbind me I might be too far gone, but I wouldn't be your problem anymore so you won't have to really worry about that."

"Well I am not sure I like that either. I mean, you aren't bad. Well you haven't been bad since I moved in. I cannot speak for your past, but it is also unfair of me to judge you on it. So I guess my first step is to find your name. That should be a bit easier what with the internet and all, but then if nothing was ever recorded this might take a while. Can you at least give me hints?" You looked hopeful and there was something in his eyes that you felt might have been hope as well.

"I can't give you any direct hints, but I can help point you in the right direction. Normally a demon would never help a mortal discover their name. It gives you too much power. That being said, I highly doubt you would abuse it and if you did I am too weak for it to really do you any good. The most you could do was hurt me or enslave me and taking your reactions to the options I gave you, I don't see that happening either. You are far too soft hearted to be a threat." The demon laughed and flicked his tail a bit.

You didn't really see it as an insult, but somehow you felt that was how his words were intended. Still he made a good point. You didn't have it in you to do any harm, not even to a demon. Especially one that did not really seem to be much of a threat. Though you were pretty sure that had something to do with him not having any power.

It wasn't so much that you were staring it was that you weren't sure what else to say. You knew there were things he was leaving off, ways he could probably gain power. However, if it was worse than what he had already mentioned maybe it was better not to know so you let those lie for now. Maybe you could ask again later, but for now you had enough. It was getting late and you needed to eat. You also wanted to get to bed at a decent time tonight.

"So how does this work now. I know what you are, I am trying to help you. Are you going to just stay gone or will you go back to playing tricks?" You actually kind of missed the gentler tricks he would play. Though you weren't sure about some of the other stuff.

"I can leave you be for now. You said you were going to help me and I should give you the chance to do that. Though if I think you are just trying to get me to behave you know I am only going to be worse, I can't hurt you, but I can annoy you more than you probably realize. So far I have been pretty nice about it since you aren't as awful to live with as some of the people that have bought this place."

"This might sound weird, but I actually kind of miss you messing around with stuff in the shop. Not so much all the stuff you do up here, but downstairs it at least kept things interesting." You shrugged and took in the look of surprise on his face.

All three sets of eyes wide as he looked at you as if you had grown a second head. "Seriously? Me moving stuff around the shop, hiding things, changing around price tags, you liked that?" He sounded like he didn't believe you.

"Well maybe not the price tag thing, but all the rest was actually helpful. Since items were never in the same place twice. People wandered around the store more. That made it so they were always seeing new items and in the end I found that more impulse purchases were made that way." You shrug and just look at him. "It may sound weird but it worked. Also sometimes you would move things in a way that was better than where I had originally placed them. You kind of have a knack for this actually."

The compliment was not lost on the demon and you noticed his wings flicking a bit and his tail twisting around itself. If you didn't know better you would think he was blushing. Smiling you decided to make the offer official. "If you would like you can help in the shop as much as you want. I would prefer if you didn't break things, but moving them around is fine. I don't mind cleaning up after you, it gives me something to do and helps me keep up with what I still have in the store. This way I don't forget if I have any items that have sat for a long time."

"Ok then. I can do that. I can't promise my help will be actual help, but I will see what I can do. Again, I ain't as powerful as I used to be and my limitations grow as I weaken." The demon stood up and blinked out of existence ending the conversation quite abruptly.

It was a little unsettling, but considering all of the topics that had been covered maybe you weren't the only one that needed a break from it all. You were still left with far more questions than answers and as tired as you were, when you went to bed you found it hard to sleep. Worry creeping in and twisting your thoughts. Nightmares plagued you and you woke up more tired than when you had gone to bed. If you didn't absolutely have to open the shop you would have just stayed in bed.


	8. Chapter 8

At first you didn't notice anything different. It was the same as when the demon had been gone. Everything was in its place. Nothing seemed to be moving. Even in your living space you saw no evidence of him being there, other than the fact that he seemed to have taken up residence in your bedroom.

Blankets ended up on the floor and you knew they had not been there the night before, but when you woke up there they were in a pile. They also happened looked slept on, so your only conclusion was that he was building little blanket nests and sleeping in them.

While you had high hopes that he would help more in the shop, or at least make it more interesting, you also understood his limitations now. You wondered if he just needed to build up more power and that inspired you to begin your search for his name. In between customers you would have your laptop open to various pages, trying to track down any information you could. You knew just searching for demon names would do nothing, but if you could find more information about cults that operated in the area then you could get somewhere.

More days passed and finally you began to notice a change in the shop. While you had not dusted things yourself as often as you should, there was no dust to be found. Items began moving again. Sometimes you would watch an item float from one end of the shop to another. It was amusing watching him place and replace items until they were exactly where he wanted them. It was clear he was taking care not to break anything which meant he was taking the idea of being freed seriously. So you had to make sure he knew that you were working as hard as you could to that end. Though a part of you almost didn't want to be free of him. That conversation had been the most you had talked to someone in a long while and it was kind of nice, even if the subject hadn't been.

Your searches kept coming up empty, or too vague to get you far. After a while he would appear on your lunch breaks and help you search. While he couldn't be specific, he was able to give you hints and clues that got you closer than you ever could have alone. Unfortunately he always made a habit of sitting in your lunch. While you weren't certain of any hygiene issues, anything he sat on always ended up tasting vaguely of smoke. When asked he just said he liked how warm it was, but there was something in his eyes that told you it wasn't just the warmth. While he was helping as much as he could, he was still a demon and if having your food sat in was as bad as it got then you were ok with that.

As more time passed and the search continued he seemed to become stronger, or perhaps that was just your perception. He was spending more time with you in the shop but also in your living space. After a month had passed he had returned to some of his original antics. Items in your house were moved around, messages were left in the fog of the mirror during your showers, cups were knocked off the counters, and you woke up more than once with him sleeping on you.

The difference was the items that moved around were never ones you needed badly, the messages on the mirrors? They weren't scary or mean. Some of them were in bad taste but it was clear he had a bit of a sense of humor. Crass or no, at least sometimes they were amusing. The dishes he knocked off were never ones that would break anymore. This time it was mostly plastic items he knocked over and he had stopped doing it to your coffee. He still sat in your food, your breakfast was his favorite seat now. Even him sleeping on you had changed. It wasn't him on your face anymore, you would just wake up and find him on random parts of you. Mostly on your chest and stomach, but one time you had found him curled up on the small of your back.

The snoring was probably the worst part of him sleeping on you. One time he had tried to sleep across your neck, but you woke up unable to breathe and he never did that again. Instead he settled for the warmer parts of you or curling up next to you. If it was a bit chilly he would drape himself across your pillow curling over the top of your head. He had yet to be truly inappropriate but you always gave him a look if you woke up to him on your chest or snuggled into your cleavage.

Overall it wasn't as bad as it had been. The food thing was really the only obnoxious part of all of it and you didn't have the heart to tell him to stop. You were also a little afraid. So far he had not done anything malicious, but that could change if you angered him. So you continued to allow his little annoyances for the time being. Also it was kind of cute to see him wiggle around in scrambled eggs and make little egg angels, not that you would say that out loud, but it was quite adorable.


	9. Chapter 9

Unfortunately days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, his antics stopped being cute when you saw anger in his eyes. The malice had begun to return to his actions. Items were broken, the messages on the mirror were now hurtful and personal. You stopped using anything glass for fear of having your feet sliced up again. You had thankfully not needed stitches, but blood had gotten everywhere. That was the first time you felt afraid.

His reaction to the sight of blood had terrified you. He looked hungry, like a starving animal, but there was something more than hunger to it. His body shifted a bit. You swore he was bigger and these tentacles appeared. A few sprung from his back waving behind him, others were in the front. If you didn't know better you would think the mass of little tentacles between his legs had been his genitalia, but that seemed a bit ridiculous.

Still, it was frightening and that night you did not sleep. You could see him, in the corner of your room, watching you. His eyes glowing faintly. You didn't remember his eyes glowing before, but now they were, and for the first time since moving in, you were scared for your own safety. After that night you had to leave for a few days.

Taking a small vacation for work had been your excuse, but it was also a trip for study. There was an old library not far from your town that had a good number or records for all the surrounding towns. Maybe the information you needed was simply so old it wasn't available online.

This trip served two purposes. To get you away from that building, and to help you on your search for his name. You wondered if maybe he simply stopped believing you. Which would be the only thing that actually made sense about his actions. Maybe he was just frustrated and thought this would be over sooner than it was. Since he couldn't tell you his name, he had to know that this task wasn't easy. Maybe he thought you weren't really trying. You just couldn't think of any other way to explain his behavior at this point.

At the library you realized that a few days might not be enough time as you walked through the large stacks of books. You were going to need help. The impression you got was that this was a central library for all the small towns in the surrounding area. That made you think it would be small, as each individual town had a small library. This was not the case. This library was a huge building with a maze of shelves and rooms. Each one filled with items that you couldn't always identify. There was even a restricted section and you immediately wanted to go into it, but had a feeling they wouldn't let you.

Instead you decided to ask for help from one of the librarians or any library staff you could find. If you were vague about what you were looking for maybe they would be more inclined to help you. You couldn't just ask them about cults in the area or demons. Instead you decided to build a story about wanting to learn more about the town you were in. You liked it there so much that you were planning to stay and though learning more about the history of the town would help. Also since you sold antiques and collectibles, perhaps you could find items to sell in your shop that would hearken back to the town's history.

 

Well not only did this ploy work, but it worked spectacularly. The librarian helping you was so thrilled by the idea of you not only wanting to learn local history, but to use it to help breathe life into the town and show the people there some of their towns history, well that just made her giddy. Together you searched for piles of books, records, old newspapers. Some of the information going so far back that it was difficult to piece together.

The one thing you did notice was that the town had a barely hidden dark past. On the surface the town seemed blessed with luck, fortune, and prosperity, but it was clear it came at a cost. You wonder if anyone ever added it up. If the number of strange accidents and tragedies were ever scrutinized as they always seemed to come right before, or right after a big boom in the town's prosperity.

The more you looked into it the more you could see a pattern forming. It was subtle and you understood why people would miss it. If you hadn't been specifically looking for information you never would have put the pieces together yourself. As it stood it seemed the demon had been telling the truth. As long as he was appeased good things happened. You had to assume that the spikes in positive events corresponded with all the missing persons and bodies found. These had to be the sacrifices.

You shuddered a bit and worried over how you were going to face the demon now that you could put names and faces on the truth of his past. The cycle didn't stop until sometime in the 70's it seemed. You weren't sure why and that was where your search stalled. Something happened then that changed the situation and you had to find out what. If you could find the original contract holder it should lead you to his name, but now you wanted more than that. You wanted answers. The mystery of this whole situation had grabbed you and you found it fascinating, if not a bit morbid.

Gathering up all the books that you could check out of the library you went to your hotel and took notes. You had made copies of pages from other books as well. As your vacation rolled on you ended up with a huge folder and binder full of information. Some of it you would have to study in depth later. The librarian had been more than helpful and urged you to come back often. Something you might spend your time off doing. You didn't get many days off and it was a bit of a drive, but in the end it would be worth it.


	10. Chapter 10

Returning home you knew something was wrong before you stepped foot in the door. A feeling washed over you and you froze. It took you a bit to get up the stairs and through the door. Once the lights were on you knew. Your house was trashed. Papers and books torn and strewn about. Stuffing pulled from cushions, you were pretty sure every dish in your home was broken at this point. How could this happen? You had a demon living with you, how could someone rob you?

Upon further inspection of the damage and the fact that while it looked like someone had broken in, they hadn't. Nothing looked to be missing, which was strange for a robbery. Setting down your bags you moved to your room and the smell that hit you made you pull back with a violent gag. You almost lost it right there. You couldn't even continue.

Heading back to the kitchen you grabbed a towel and placed it over your face then went back to your room. All your drawers were open, your bed was a mess, everything looked like it had been soaked in some fluid. You weren't sure what though. You checked the closet and all of you shoes had some black tar gunk in them, the smell so foul that even the towel wasn't helping. You had to back out of your room before you passed out. The odor alone was going to kill you.

The more you looked at the damage, the more little things fell into place. The shape of the tears, the claw marks, the unholy smell that could only be demon shit and piss. The demon had behaved like a pissed off cat and ruined your house in a temper tantrum. If you weren't so close to fainting from the smell, you would scream.

Stalking out of your home you headed down to the shop, expecting it to be destroyed. It wasn't. If anything it seemed to be in better shape than when you had left. It was damn near pristine. You were a bit perplexed as you moved further into the shop and looked around. Heading into your small office you sat in your desk chair with a sigh. Hot frustrated tears rolled down your cheeks as you tried to think of how you were going to deal with all of this. The clean up could take weeks, and you were sure that a large number of your belongings were ruined beyond repair.

You honestly didn't care much about your things, yes they were your things and some of them held emotional attachment. This just felt so personal. He didn't attack the shop, he attacked you. He couldn't hurt you physically, but clearly there were no limitations on mental or emotional damage. All you wanted to do was help him, banish him back to his realm. It was what he wanted, so why would he do this.

Your arms were resting on your desk as you sobbed quietly at first, and then louder as the stress from everything just welled up inside of you. Since you were so loud you didn't hear or see him pop into existence near you. Not at first. Your tears slowed as you tried to pull yourself together. It would do you no good to just sit here and cry. As tired as you were, you had to get your house in order. Though you weren't sure how you were going to deal with your bedroom.

Sitting up you glanced over next to you and saw the demon standing there on your desk. His limbs, wings, and tail were tight against his body. All of his eyes were focused on you but none of them seemed to be seeing you. He was almost looking past you in a way. His expression was one you couldn't read and while he didn't look smug, you weren't sure what other expression he could possibly need after what he did.

"Why?" Your voice cracked as you spoke, more tears sliding down your cheeks as you tried to take in a breath.

He stood there as you looked at him and didn't answer at first. You just watched him, wondering what you could have done to deserve what happened while you were gone. You were angry, yes, but you were more hurt than anything. Didn't he want your help? DIdn't he want to be free of all of this? How could he do this to you. Yes he was a demon, but this was far worse than anything he had ever done and you just didn't understand it.

He just continued to stand there watching you and you let the question hang in the air for what felt like several minutes before you had to ask again. "Why? What did I do to earn this? I have been trying to help you. I won't murder people but I haven't given up. I know it is taking a while, but since you won't or can't help me, then I have to take what little time I have to help you. Why, why did you suddenly act out like this?"

New, fresh tears were streaming down your face. You were hurt and frustrated by the whole situation. "What is worse is now I am going to have to spend all the spare time I would have spent helping you on cleaning up your mess. Some of it may never come clean. If you didn't want help why did you even ask for it?" The anger was coming up now. Anger was sometimes easier than hurt.

"I... I don't know." His tail was curled around his leg and he looked rather sad and helpless. If anything he did look as if he felt bad about what he did.

"You don't know? How.. how could you destroy my home and not know why?" Anger and frustration built but you were still afraid somewhat. This was a demon, you weren't sure what would happen if you yelled at him, but the anger kept growing and you realized that there wasn't much left to lose at this point. Other than the shop and for some reason you brain wasn't really thinking about that.

Standing up you slammed your hands on your desk near him and got right in his face. "I don't know is not good enough. Now you tell me why you destroyed my home right now! I agreed to help you but I don't have to. If calling an exorcist will make you go away for a while I will do it and I don't care how much it hurts. I will keep doing it on a regular schedule to so that all you feel is pain before you finally fade away. Is that what you want?"

Maybe it wasn't wise to yell at a demon but you were angry, frustrated, and hurt. You weren't really thinking about your own safety until his eyes went red and he began to grow. Only a little though and when he stopped growing his expression mirrored your anger and frustration for a moment. You realized that even if he had wanted to, he couldn't do any more damage than what he had already done. All of that had taken a considerable amount of his power and without anything feeding power back into him, he was using up what he had.

It didn't explain why he had done it, but it at least helped you feel a little bit safer. "Go ahead. Threaten me, hurt me more than you already have. I wanted to help you, I am not sure I see a point anymore. It isn't worth it to keep you around if you are going to behave like this!"

Reaching out you pushed him off the desk and to your surprise he didn't float. Instead you heard the thump of him hitting the floor and a crack, like something breaking. A hollow feeling filled your stomach as you slowly peered around your desk and to the floor. He was laying there, clearly in pain. One of his wings looked a bit crumpled and his tail was bent at an unnatural angle. That must have been the crack you heard, and you felt sick.

Despite your anger he did not deserve this and you found that anger had faded fast as you knelt down by him and carefully picked him up. "I .. I am so sorry. I thought you would just disappear or fly off. Why did you let me push you?"

"Couldn't get my wings open fast enough and I used too much power appearing here and hadn't built up enough yet to disappear again. It is fine, I am a demon. I heal pretty fast usually." His eyes locked on you, all of them, and he had a sad sort of smile on his face. "I deserved it anyway." he shrugged as you sat him gently on the desk.

"No you didn't. I was angry, and I still am, but you don't deserve for me to hurt you like that. I didn't mean what I said about the exorcist. Even if you hate me and hurt me I am still going to help you because I promised I would." You got up and grabbed the first aid kit off the nearby shelf. You weren't sure if human medicine would work on him, but you could at least set and wrap his tail.

You reached for him again and strangely he allowed it. His skin felt weird, like leather maybe or something soft and smooth. Other spots felt like velvet, or small delicate hairs. Before you realized what you were doing you were petting him and he seemed to enjoy it especially when you began to rub his horns. Pulling your hand away you cleared your throat and went back to checking his injuries.

His tail was very much broken and you weren't quite sure how to fix it. "Can you please help me with this. I need to know how to do it right."

"I will heal in a few days. This really isn't necessary, but if you insist I can show you how to help. Maybe it will heal faster this way." He had a tiny smile on his lips as he began to show you the best way to set and wrap his tail. While his wing wasn't broken it was torn a bit and slightly crumpled. You treated it to make sure it wouldn't get infected and wrapped it as best you could.

"I would take you upstairs to rest but..." You let that hang. In his anger he had also messed up his own home too. You weren't sure where he went to when he disappeared, but you were pretty positive you couldn't go there.

"There is a bed in the basement, but you won't like it." He commented.

Something in his voice made the hair on your neck stand up, then it hit you. "Wait, we have a basement?" In all the discussions you had with the realtor, and the full tour. Not once had the subject of a basement come up.


	11. Chapter 11

He clears his throat and looks up at you. "It isn't on any of the new plans for the building. One of the last masters had it removed. The cult had grown small and he worried what might happen if it was ever found out. If nothing else, the building would be fine on it's own, but the basement, well, that would be a problem." He looked at you. "You could find some answers down there, but I am not sure the fright would be worth it to you."

You laughed a bit. "Oh how bad could it be..."

"The sacrifices were performed on the altar down there, along with all their spells and rituals." The matter of fact way he spoke should have been warning enough.

You were clearly nervous and swallowed audibly. "Well, I mean.. I did find some information at the library and I can assure you it wasn't all good. It put names and faces to the the missing, those that were sacrificed. So maybe I could handle it?" You didn't sound confident at all and you were sure he noticed.

"Is it gross? Like body parts and blood?" You had to ask, you were pretty sure that much you couldn't handle.

"No, not anymore. All of that has long since been cleaned and faded. There are still stains, skulls, and bones, but no flesh and blood remain." He paused and rubbed one of his horns. "The torture equipment is still there, their robes, the books, evidence of everything they did, and the room they kept me in. That room, I fear will frighten you the most. If nothing else, there will be questions and I am not sure I want to answer them."

You watched him for a long moment. "Would I find your name faster if I went down there?"

"Yes, but you will learn so much more that you never wanted to know. You would have been forced down there at some point anyway. The banishing ritual would have required it, but you wouldn't have had to go far. This, being down there for research and in my room, will be far more than I feel you can handle." He was honest at least. While demons usually lied they could tell the truth when they wanted. Lies just better suited them. This time, lies would do nobody any good.

Taking a deep breath you nodded. "Ok, I can do this. If nothing else it will help you faster. However, you have to promise me you will help me clean up your mess and that you won't do it again. Ok?" You weren't sure what demon promises are worth, but you had to take a chance.

"If I had more power I could clean it in a snap, but yes I will help you clean my mess. Even if I have to do it the mortal way." He looked up at you with a bit of a playful smile as you picked him up and headed out into the shop.

"I am not killing anyone so you can take the easy way out, and I think a little manual labor will do you some good. Though, do I even want to know what that was in my shoes?" You ask, mostly as a joke.

He pauses. "No, no you do not." and just leaves it at that.

You look down at him in your arms as you carry him to the back of the shop. You had a feeling, when you moved in that something wasn't quite right about that back wall, but you could never place why.

"Lift me up higher until I am close to the ceiling." He pointed to the top of the wall where it met the ceiling. There was a strange groove there, barely noticeable until you actually looked at it.

You had to grab a chair and stand on it so he could reach. When he did touch it, you heard a click and a whirring sound then a slow grinding of concrete as a door swung open. You never even saw the shape of it in the pattern of brick on the back wall. Clearly these cultists knew what they were doing when it came to concealing things. It was no wonder no one ever found it and no one ever questioned the shape of the room.

"It will be dark down there, we might want to bring some light. I am not sure how much of this stuff still works outside of my room honestly. I haven't taken this way in before, I don't really need doors usually." He tried to climb up to sit on your shoulder but his wing and tail were clearly hurting him too much to allow for that much movement.

You rushed back to your office, setting him on the desk as you dug around for a flashlight. Grabbing your backpack from the corner you emptied it out and folded your blanket that was draped on the back of your chair into it. Carefully you picked the demon up and settled him in the backpack and then slipped it on. He would be able to peer over your shoulder and talk in your ear, but he would be comfortable and secure in the bag and it would leave your hands free.

It amused you that he did not complain of this arrangement, though you were sure that if you had strapped him to your front like a baby, he would have something to say about it. Instead he seemed to like this arrangement and made himself comfortable, arms resting on your shoulder as he pointed out which way to go as you stepped into the darkness.

The flashlight was on quickly and illuminating the short hall that lead to the stairs down. Everything was covered in dust, spiderwebs, moisture, and who knew what else. It was creepy and you felt a sense of foreboding coming over you. Yet you felt somewhat safe. You had the monster that would be lurking down there with you. The worst you would run into is evidence of his existence and the horrors that came before.

While you knew that it would probably be quite frightening to see that evidence, you had no real fear for your life. You knew nothing down here would harm you, at least you hoped nothing would. You wondered if the cultists had placed any traps and if the demon would even know about them. Perhaps it would be in your best interest to ask.

"Is there anything I need to worry about? Traps or dangerous rooms that could kill me?" You voice shook as you descended the stone steps.

"Not that I know of. To be honest I haven't been down here much other than my room. It is possible there are dangerous traps or rooms that have items that will kill you. I will make sure you are safe. If nothing else my powers will work for that. It is part of the contract. I can't let any physical harm come to you, so you will be physically safe. I can't speak for your emotional or mental state though and I am sure there will be things down here that will upset you."

You shined your light down into the darkness as you descend. It was the best you were going to get but it also did soothe you somewhat. At least you wouldn't die down here. It was your own fault if you broke mentally. You insisted on coming down here. The demon did not force you, if anything he tried to talk you out of it. Which would have been strange except he weirdly seemed to care, or at least that was how you were reading his behavior.

As you moved slowly down the stairs your light caught accents on the wall, carvings that held no meaning to you, but were probably important. Maybe you should have a camera out taking pictures but it was hard to do in the dark. "Hey, if I give you my phone, can you take pictures of the important stuff? I mean you want me to find your name right? All of this could help." You gestured to some of the carvings on the wall.

"Those won't, but yeah I can do that if you really want me to. I promise not to drop your phone, I mean I will try at least. It isn't easy to hold those things sometimes." He made a sound that was something like a laugh but you couldn't tell really.

Passing him your phone you sighed as you let go. If it broke you could get another one. Usually the important components and data survived falls, it was always the screens that broke. So hopefully you were at least safe there. "I hope you know what to take pictures of. Even if you don't think it is important, maybe snap a few shots. I have plenty of space so we don't have to worry about running out of film like with old cameras."

Finally you hit the bottom of the steps and looked around. Your flashlight illuminating the room. It was large and circular with dark hallways splitting off of it. There wasn't much down here, just some images and carvings on the wall, a few old chairs that you doubted could ever be restored, and a shelf with some books. You left them, maybe later you could add them to your library but for now you would leave them be.

"Is there any electricity down here at all?" you asked as you peered back over your shoulder at the demon.

"Yes, actually, but I am not sure how well it all works outside of my room. It wouldn't hurt to give it a try but we should keep the flashlight with us. While I can see just fine in the dark you can't." he commented before pointing to a panel on the wall.


	12. Chapter 12

Walking to the panel it took you a moment to pry it open. The switches weren't labeled and you hoped that they only worked the lights. It was a disturbing thought that you might be turning all manner of devices on in other parts of this building. Slowly the lights flickered to life, but the light was dim. "I suppose most of these will need replacing."

"What are you planning to do? Give tours?" The demon's sarcastic question wasn't really a bad one.

"Actually, that might not be a bad idea. Once this place is somewhat cleaned up and if it is possible to make it safe, why not? I mean people would pay a lot of money for something like this. If I am careful and don't change too much, we won't actually have to clean all that much at all. We just have to make sure people can't be hurt and no evidence of any real sacrifices can be found. That way if someone calls the cops and they test for blood then maybe they won't find any, or we can use animal blood to cover the human blood at least. I mean it could be something worth looking into." You shrugged as you looked over your shoulder.

"Humans are strange." He commented.

You arched a brow but didn't argue, he wasn't wrong and you really didn't have anything you could say that wouldn't prove him more right so you let the subject drop. With the lights on it was a little less scary but not by much. You still had to tell yourself over and over that you were safe and nothing would happen. That the worst of what could be found was already in your backpack.

"So do you know which way to go? I mean can you remember at all? I know you wanted to take me to your room,but if there are answers down here I suppose we can start the research now if that is possible." you glance back at him and he is making a face.

"I don't want to take you to my room, I feel like I have to. I am sure you wont like it and this is the long way so it will take me a bit to remember. It is already late so rest might be for the best unless you want to explore down here right this moment then we can." The demon was glancing around, and it did appear as if he was trying to remember something.

"Well I am sure your room can't be that bad. I mean I have seen the mess you made of my room so it can't really be worse than that can it?" You ask though you sound worried.

"Actually my room is quite clean, that isn't what I am worried about. The questions, that I know you will ask, and I will have to answer, that is what I am worried about." He huffs a bit and points off to the side. "That way. This much looks familiar so I think we are close to where they kept me. At least the second place they kept me. The first place was more like a cage but it didn't work and they realized quickly that making me angry didn't help them at all."

"If you don't want me asking questions then I don't have to ask questions. It is that simple. That or you can refuse to answer. I mean I can't really force you to answer, or can I?" You stop and look at him and he refuses to look back at you, which was really all the answer you needed.

You continued in silence heading down the dark corridor, making turns you didn't really understand, and passing doors you didn't open. It wasn't until a few more minutes passed that you realized whatever this was, it was far bigger than the building above it. Something that did make a weird sort of sense, but did nothing to ease the worry that was filling you.

"We should be close. The door to my room is ornate and should stand out unlike some of the doors we have passed so far. There will be markings on it, a symbol in the center. It is the symbol for the cult." He pointed to a dark hallway and urged you toward it.

It was somehow darker than the rest of the area and you realized it was because there were no lights until the very end of the hall. There was a door down there, and it did look decorated, but it was too far to really see clearly.

"They did this on purpose didn't they. Incase anyone came down here that wasn't supposed to be. To make them afraid to approach the door, but what if there actually are traps or something?" The demon handed you the flashlight as you finished your question,

"I honestly don't remember any traps, but yes it is like this on purpose. Shine the light down the hall. If you need me to, I can go first, or I can use some of my power to protect us." His eyes wouldn't meet yours as he offered.

"If you don't have the power to spare, I would hate for you to waste it and be more hurt. I suppose this is a risk we have to take." You shine the light down the hall and while it doesn't look trapped you still feel uneasy.

Slowly and carefully you take a step, then another, then another, until you are halfway down the hall. With each step you feel more ill at ease rather than less. When you look at the door you want to run away. Everything inside of you screaming to turn around and never look back. You don't stop, you can't stop. Part of you wants to see what is on the other side of that door despite how afraid you feel.

Finally, somehow, you made it to the door. You released the breath you didn't even know you had been holding. Your hand shook as you reached for the handle but the demon stopped you. Confused and startled you glanced back at him.

"Don't. This part I am certain is not safe. I have to do this." He carefully scaled down your arm. "Hold me up to the door. The center of it. I think I remember the handle being a decoy and it might be trapped."

You lifted your arm holding your hand out so he could reach the symbol at the middle of the door. For a moment you worried that the door wouldn't open given his current size, but then you heard a low noise. A rumble, a click, then creaking as the door moved slightly.

"Help me push it open, it should be safe now, it is just heavy. I am used to being bigger and honestly I never had to use the door before." He laughs a bit as you help push the door open while holding him in your other hand.


End file.
